N.Z. burglar reports corpse to police

WELLINGTON – A terrified New Zealand burglar handed himself in after breaking into a darkened house and bumping into a hanging corpse, waking neighbors with his blood-curdling screams, police said Thursday.

The hapless thief was arrested after he called police in the early hours of Wednesday to report his gruesome discovery in the North Island town of Hamilton, The New Zealand Herald reported.

Inspector Greg Nicholls said it was the most unusual case he had encountered in his 28-year police career, and that he believed it would prompt the burglar to mend his ways.

“I’m hopeful that this might be a career-changing moment for that burglar,” he told the newspaper.

“I dare say for the burglar, if we remove the criminality of what he was doing, it would be really shocking. Can you imagine what that would be like in the dark?”